Rebecca Yonder and Jacob Swenson live in the same county but their lives could not be more different. Rebecca is the only daughter of a conservative Mennonite farm family. Jacob is the only son of a wealthy non-Mennonite whose family has farmed their acres of land for over a century. The two should have never met and certainly never fallen in love, but a chance encounter in the Yonder family's Eden General Store changes all of that. Jacob quickly realizes that he is in the presence of a beautiful and intelligent young woman, in spite of her conservative Mennonite dress and cap. Rebecca sees Jacob as a handsome young man, 'of the world' and completely outside of her own culture and tradition. Silently, without words, and despite their apparent cultural and religious differences, they vow to see each other again. As their romance grows deeper and they grow closer, Jacob and Rebecca's differences continue trying to tear them apart. Rebecca's father refuses to allow her to even see Jacob,